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Eight Years Ago, They Were the Most Common Mammal in America. Now They're Almost Extinct

Vampire-evoking, blood-sucking and
Ebola-linked bats might not be the most beloved animals in the world.

Even so, these animals play a crucial role in our ecosystem - and now
they are in danger of disappearing.

According to Wired, 6.5
million Little Brown Bats lived in the eastern U.S. in 2006, making
them the most populous wild mammal species in America at the time. Since
then, millions of Little Brown Bats have died, leaving them a
"threatened species" in many states.

What is killing the bats?

Though bat death has often
been linked to pesticides and other chemicals, the chief cause seems to
be White Nose Syndrome (WNS), a fatal fungal infection with no
treatment or cure. The fungus, which kills bats in hibernation during
wintertime, has been quickly spreading throughout the eastern United
States.

Image Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

That doesn't mean that all bats are endangered - but many are

For instance, WNS is endemic in Europe, where many bats have resistance
to the fungus. But American bats do not have this immunity: 11 of the 47
American bat species are currently affected, with four of those being
listed as endangered. As WNS affects hibernating bats, that means that
just about half of all American bat species could be affected in the
future.

Bats are incredibly important in our environment

In
addition to getting rid of agricultural pests for us for free, some
species also play a crucial role in pollination as well. It's also
important to keep bats' place in the ecosystem in mind: Should a large
bat population suddenly decrease, that could mean an increase in
mosquitoes and other pests.

What can we do?

For now, the best method of
containing WNS is isolation and prevention. This means identifying and
closing bat caves that have already been infected, and making sure that
humans don't help to spread the disease any further. It's already been
speculated that humans brought WNS from Europe to America; the best we
can do is to stay out of caves and let nature run its course - hopefully
that will be enough to help American bats regrow their struggling
populations.